About Commonwealth Bank

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (commonly referred to as the CommBank), was founded in 1911 by the Australian government, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1991, and fully privatised in 1996. The Commonwealth Bank is on of the "big four" Australian banks, and the largest Australian listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange as of August 2015. The bank has brands including BankWest, Colonial First State Investments, ASB Bank (New Zealand), Commonwealth Securities and Commonwealth Insurance.

Related Dodgy Deals

Commonwealth Bank has been linked to the following "Dodgy Deals", e.g. as a current or past financier or through an expression of interest. Find out more about dodgy deals here. See the project or company profile for more details on the nature of the bank's link to the Dodgy Deal.

Projects - active profiles

In August 2015 it was reported that Commonwealth Bank's role as adviser to Adani had ended, with sources citing the environmental controversy surrounding Carmichael and the project's financial risk in the face of tumbling coal prices.

Investment policies

The Commonwealth Bank's group's asset management business, Colonial First State Group Asset Management and insurance business, CommInsure, are both signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. Both the Commonwealth Bank and its wholly-owned subsidiary Colonial First State report to the Carbon Disclosure Project. Read here how the Commonwealth Bank Group is managing, and reporting on, its ESG impacts. Commonwealth Bank's web page on corporate social responsibility can be accessed here.

Campaigns

Commonwealth Bank and the Equator Principles

The Equator Principles are a voluntary commitment of banks to try to avoid or minimise the social, environmental and human rights impact of projects they finance. For more information on the Equator Principles see their website here and the campaign page of BankTrack here.